


Mystery Unsolved

by AidenSurvival (orphan_account)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-28
Updated: 2012-09-27
Packaged: 2017-11-08 18:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/446430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/AidenSurvival
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's Impulse's intention? Why is he still here? With the help of the team, Kid Flash will soon find the answer...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an on-going story.  
> Keep in mind updates won't be quick, rather when I feel like updating. 
> 
> I'm lazy. -__- I'm not one to write chapter after chapter every day. I need inspiration, yo.  
> Story may be revised, plot may change in the future.
> 
> The spoiler at the end will hint at one clue. The rest...sshhh.

Bart's arrival was expected. My dream told me. Funny that I believed it, because it came to life; beat that, Nightwing! I predicted his arrival before you had time to process his existence in our time frame! I'm not jealous. I'm, put simply, stumped. For a speedster like him to travel back in time with no explanation whatsoever puzzles me. He revealed clues here and there…I assumed he had more. Disappointingly, he avoided the questions tossed at him all together.

I'm no mind reader, but judging from his somber expression when I bring up the topic about Uncle Barry foretold a piece to the puzzle. That was enough for me. The kid was about to bring on the waterworks. Bart must have witnessed a specific frame of a loved one dying. Specifically Barry Allen; I'll call up Nightwing to extract more information from my future cousin.

* * *

12:15 A.M.  
Mount Justice.

**Kid Flash, B03.**

Same as I was in Mount Justice five years ago. Glad to see the only thing that's changed is the gadgets and Megan's improved cooking skills. Speaking of which, what is that heavenly smell? Wally dashed towards the kitchen to find the white Martian making a combination involving cookies, ice cream, and a bowl of chocolate chips to sprinkle on the ice cream. Alongside the desert were several plates full of your average goods for a standard get-together celebration.

"What's cookin', good lookin'?"

M'gann turned around to face the hungry speedster devouring the first plate in sight. She smiled before using her telepathy to hand napkins for Wally to clean up with. "Oh, the usual things I always do. Cooking, cleaning, and going on dates with the boyfriend. What about you, Wally? I see you found your plate." She giggled before handing him his desert. Wally accepted graciously before propping himself up on the counter top. "-Been busy with college and working. And, hey, before I forget…where's Nightwing?"

"He's out patrolling in Blüdhaven. He promised me he'd be back in an hour. He told me you want a favor from him?"

Wally pondered on the thought _. M'gann would be a greater help than Dick. After all, she can read minds._

"Forget about the favor… Hey M'gann?" Wally's emerald eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas tree shining from the decorating lights. _Asking M'gann would be so much easier than having Dick utilize his interrogation techniques._

The Martian looked at him. "Yes?" Her smile turned to a frown. She had the idea that Wally wanted her to impose Impulse's barrier in his mind and unlocking the clues the team longed to find. Back then, Megan declined. Today, she no longer felt reluctant to do it. It became her everyday routine. She caught herself reading her team member's mind so much she basically did it on purpose for her own sheer enjoyment. The purpose (from reading Wally's mind) he wanted her to fulfill would end up to be challenging. Impulse had the intention of escaping when things got serious.

* * *

Wally persisted with courage as he spilled the final words out. Once he got her acceptance, he bid her farewell before speeding off to Zeta-Beam to go back to Central City and rendezvous to Palo Alto. Once there, Impulse greeted him by tackling him to the ground. "Jesus, Bart! Stop before you use your body as a cannon ball! I may heal fast, but it still hurts you bastard." The green eyed boy gleamed with satisfaction. "Aw, are you afraid of power hugs Wally?"

"What?"

"Power hugs." When Wally didn't answer, Impulse sighed as he explained. "Power hugs are when I tackle you and grab on to you."

"Sounds more like 'Piss off Wally hug.'." The monotonous reply earned Bart sticking out his tongue to Wally. The older individual got up, shaking the dirt from his shirt. He strode along the streets of Central City, ignoring every witty remark from his futuristic cousin. When he was within reach the door to his complex, he glanced behind him to find Impulse dispersed in the shadows. "Bart. You can't scare me when I see your lightning bolt ear cups reflected the dim light above us. "

"I'm not hiding."

"Sure, and I'm not pretending to ignore you."

"So you're actually ignoring me?"

"You talk too much."

"Do not!"

It was Wally's turn to sigh. "You need a place to stay. Come on in. Artemis probably left leftovers in the fridge. You can share with me."

"Can I share Artemis-?"

Bart winked, until Wally's glare cut his conversation off. "Do you _**want**_ to die? Because she'll definitely kill you if she heard you practically yelling _that_."

"S-Sorry, Wally." Bart cautiously stepped inside, peering throughout the living room. When Artemis wasn't present, the speedster mentally exhaled, grateful that his life would be spared for tonight...Only tonight.

Wally ruffled the hair on Impulse's head. "I'm not mad. Let's go and eat."

* * *

* * *

**Chapter 2: Caught Like a Fly**

* * *

* * *

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Nightwing stepped up closer to the Martian. He pulled up information he pulled from the Justice League database regarding the time traveling speedster. As with his group, the JLA has no more information regarding the subject. They were just as perplexed as they were. Except Batman. Dick had a hunch he held a few secrets back. Using Megan was the only option, and a secret weapon to aid in her extracting the required data.

"Positive.", she confirmed. "Wally needs to be here to keep Impulse intact. Ya know, to keep him in place."

"That or we can give him an experimental sedative..." Nightwing sheepishly grinned.

M'gann raised an eyebrow. Batman's famed ex-protégé was either the world's greatest interrogator, or the world's worst nightmare. Telling by his expression, the drug would prove harmless to the speedster's health. "I can keep Bart intact without him speeding up his thoughts on purpose."

"Really? Because Impulse is faster than Wally. Reading KF's mind is easier, Impulse needs to be drugged. That way his body will slow down that to a normal humans operatic functions. Wally's easy to read because he lets you."

"What about when I read his mind the other day?"

"He let you."

* * *

Nightwing finished typing in the plans and sent the email to Wally in encrypted/secret word form. "I sent KF the message. If everything goes according to plan, they should arrive tomorrow. Unless Impulse escapes again."

Wally awoke in a groggy state as his cousin pulled the blinds up, revealing the intense lights emitting from the rising sun. Artemis moaned, uttering words along the lines of "Kill that damn kid." and "Wally...ice cream Sunday...gonna kill that jerk.".

Finally, Wally got up and grabbed Bart by the wrist. "Dude, we're sleeping! You better have a good reason to wake me up at seven o'clock in the freakin' morning!" To be honest, Wally went to bed around 5 am discussing plans Dick had made with him and the other members at Mount Justice.

"Sorry to wake ya, but I wanna run!" Impulse said, whilst jumping up and down. _A run couldn't hurt._ He had to keep the hyperactive hero known as Impulse quiet and let Artemis continue her beauty sleep. The retired archer would break Bart's bones. "Fine," Wally muttered. "but on one condition." He raised a finger, pointing to the road outside the window. "You follow me to Mount Justice."

"Why?"

"Nightwing's going to add you to our team." Hey, he wasn't lying. Grayson did promise Impulse a position after he confessed his motives to stay in the past. "Come with me and I'll take you to my favorite Mexican restaurant."

Impulse's eyes shot right open. "Fajita Extravaganza?"

Wally nodded. "The one and only."

* * *

Bart sprinted out the door before Wally got another word in edgewise. The older teen shrugged, donned his old Kid Flash suit and raced to Mount Justice.

"Got everything ready?" Nightwing prepared the commands for securing the electrical-alien hybrid barrier while Meagan mentally readied herself to read the futuristic speedster's mind.

"Affirmative." Practicing for several hours guaranteed a eight percent success rate, the Martian would be disappointed if it didn't. They **needed** evidence. Critical information in the eyes of both the JLA and the Team. Bart wouldn't tell. He gave away details, but those weren't enough.

"Good. Get ready to set the virtual barrier up to entrap him. Only we can go in and out."

Her eyes turned an eerily bright red as she set a mental barrier around Nightwing's electrical contraption.

"Palif'st Lo'kana f'lief!" Zatanna appeared by her side, uttering the spell to add an extra layer of security to the invisible wall. Magenta, yellows and blues quickly showed and faded in seconds. Satisfied, they returned to the hideaway Nightwing built behind the main hall.

"We're not going to severely injure him, are we Rob?" It was Zatanna. She tend to think and worry about the consequences more than the others.

Nightwing winked and turned his face to the opposite end of the hall, finding a yellow-red and tan blur appearing on time."To him, it'll only sting. We need to buy time, not trap him in it forever. Eventually, Impulse will tell us what we need to know. We have M'gann to use in case he plays the amnesia game."

* * *

"Okay. We're here. Can we go to Keystone and pick up those fajitas?" Impulse cautiously paced back and forth, trying not to trip on his cousin's toes. "I'm hungry!"

"Hold on a second, I gotta go to the main hall to check on a few criminals." Wally guided Bart with him, using a pinch to zoom gesture to bring a screen up to view. He typed in many names, but he did that to give his friends the go ahead to activate the barrier. Impulse sensed this. The moment Nightwing screamed "Go!", he bolted in the opposite direction. He ended up smacking right dab into the barricade.

"This ain't funny, guys! Let me go!" He vibrated faster and faster, sprinting towards the wall again. He got a bloody nose in return.

"No use in trying, kid. We've built this bad boy to sustain your type." Nightwing walked closer to the boy. "Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

* * *

**Chapter 3: You Owe Me**

* * *

I was trapped. They had me in a grasp with their magical barrier surrounding me. There were options present, a cornucopia of plans flooding my mind. One, I had the chance to vibrate my molecules to match that of the force field. Two, tell them a fake story and hope to god M'gann buys it. Three, scream and run around in circles. Obviously, I'm not a great planner. They are, not me. Impulse does things impulsively.

The information I choose not to release, is my choice. They don't need to know it was I who stabilized Neutron. I **had** to do it. Barry Allen would have met his fate with death had it not been for me. I stopped one instance from happening on the time-frame; I have more to lives to save. They assumed I was only "visiting" the past, but arising suspicion from the Team brought me here trapped in a bubble. Except this bubble is infused with magic and Martian technology, _totally cool_.

I'll reveal whatever they want from me, only if they give me something to eat. Who in the hell tricks a speedster like that? Oh, yes, **Wally West** would. I swear he's a dead man when they let me go. Nobody gets away with not buying me fajitas. Plus, I'm starving! This is the equivalent of the Joker injecting truth serum in your veins, however my stomach is the one feeling the pain thus will probably -most likely- get me to tell them more than they need to know.

* * *

Impulse scattered back and forth inside the barrier. Once he gave up attempting to escape, he sat down next to Wally whom was giving him a devious leer. "Bastard." Impulse said. Wally nudged him in the rib cage. "Hey, you fell for it. But I promised you fajitas, so wrap up the story and we'll head out in no time." Megan strode up to him and sat down beside the two speedsters. "I need you to tell me everything you know. We're not here to hurt you. We just want to know why you're still in the past." She reached out, putting her hand on his shoulder. "And don't worry about going without food, I'll prepare the fajitas and desert to make up for setting you up in a trap."

Impulse returned the comforting glance. "Thanks. What do you want?"

Nightwing stepped forward. "Everything, Bart; we need even the littlest detail."

"Wow. You want to know you had a kid with Starfire, too?" Wally and Megan's mouth dropped in shock. The colour of Nightwing's skin turned a shade of red. Richard then cleared his throat to avoid further embarrassment. The sad truth, it made it worse. All eyes shifted to the Dark Knight's ex-protégé. "Dude!" Wally exclaimed. "Isn't Starfire on another dimension?"

"Yes, she is. Bart, I'm sure you have me confused with a different Nightwing." He shifted his attention to the screen that popped up in front of him and began searching for the new-found name.

"Rob, I'm sure it's you. And no, she exists on this dimension. You two haven't met yet." Impulse followed alongside Nightwing, pointing out that no result is present because Starfire hasn't made a name for herself yet. "She'll be in the news a year from now. I guarantee it."

Impulse zoomed back beside his cousin. "What else do you want? Hey, I have something!" He shifted his gaze at Wally. "Remember when Neutron somehow got stabilized."

"Yea," The older speedster replied. "What about it?"

"I stabilized him."

Nightwing was the first to speak. "Already figured that."

Impulse rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, I did it for good reason. I saved the Flash, saved you," he gestured to Wally. "and had I not done either, the Flash family would cease to exist."

"Cease to exi-" Nightwing said.

Kid Flash interrupted. "Iris going to have twins, Barry's power's-"

"Her continuous grieving would have caused her to-" Impulse choked upon answering. M'gann immediately pulled him in her embrace when Bart began to cry. Without looking up, he whispered, "...caused her to commit suicide."

 

* * *


	2. Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Con't from the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last portion of text removed from the previous chapter to remain consistent with FFN updates.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do NOT own Young Justice.
> 
> I forgot the plot to this. :(
> 
> Don't worry, I'll try to make it 100x better in the near future.

"You're lying again." Wally sat up, proceeding to go toward the speedster and lightly slapping him on the head. "That's for being you."  
  
Impulse winced, promptly returning the blow. "Ow...So what? Not like you'll benefit from the truth."  
  
"Wally, step aside. It's my turn." M'gann's crimson eyes glowed as she attempted to keep up with Bart's racing thoughts. "Can you, I don't know, slow down so I can read your mind? I can only get bits and pieces."  
  
"No can do. You're gonna have to beat it out of me before I surrender." Impulse flashed her a corny grin, Wally pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.  
  
"Impulse, listen to me." Kid Flash took hold of the time travelling speedster's chin, his green eyes boring into the others hazel eyes. "Tell us the damn truth. Please. For me?"  
  
Impulse considered Wally's pleas. "Okay. Just for you. Only you, because bird boy, magic Mary, and alien girl are making me feel uncomfortable."  
  
"Um, guys?" Kid Flash cleared his throat, sending the message that Impulse rather be alone with Wally and not them. Sighing in defeat, Nightwing retreated while M'gann and Zatanna shut off the force field before heading off their own separate ways.  
  
"Happy now?" Wally asked.  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because what I'm about to tell you is unsettling."  
  
Kid Flash gave him a sceptical look. "Impulse, what in the hell happened in the future?"  
  
Bart consciously rubbed his arm with his other hand. "A lot of unfortunate events."  
  
"What kind of 'unfortunate events'?"  
  
The time travelling speedster finally broke down. "You guys don't exist in my time frame."

* * *

  
  
Megan began preparing cookies in the oven as a celebration after her sixth attempt at perfecting Bart's favourite Mexican food. The whole time spent cooking, the Martian searched her memory for whatever information she managed to gather from the brown-haired speedster.  
  
From Impulse's bleak childhood moments to his sporadic deep thinking of why there's no pizza vending machine's in the future, M'gann found (almost) no answer to the team's problem.  
  
Until the moment Wally came barging in.  
  
"Wedontexist!"  
  
M'gann motioned for Wally to slow down. "Can you repeat that?" The speedster complied, emphasising each word. "We. Don't. Exist."  
  
Megan blinked, a look of utter confusion on her face. "Of course we do. We're standing here now...wait." The Martian smacked her forehead. "Duh, Megan! You mean about what Bart told you?"  
  
"Yes. He told me we don't exist in the future."  
  
"Did he reveal anything else?" M'gann questioned.  
  
"I forgot to ask him the other questions." Wally admitted, embarrassed.  
  
On cue, Bart arrived when the oven's timer dinged. "Is that cookies you're making?"  
  
Both heroes stared at him.  
  
"What?" he said.  
  
Megan telepathically pulled out the tray of semi-burnt cookies and placed them on the counter top. "Eat. Then we'll resume the interrogation."  
  
 "Oh man! You said the meeting adjourned!" Bart jabbed his finger into Wally's right shoulder-blade. Kid Flash smacked it away. "First, I never said that. I ran to tell M'gann. Secondly, one answer isn't enough. We need more."  
  
"Artemis is going to freak if you don't come back home in time."  
  
Wally shrugged. "We have all day, Bart. She's got other things to do, she'll understand."  
  
"Uh-huh." He shoved a mouthful of the delicious treat in his mouth. "I don't feel like telling you all spoilers."  
  
"Not like you haven't before."  
  
Nightwing strode up to the group. Furious by today's half-failed mission, he grabbed Impulse by the ear. "You, me, **now**."  
  
"Where are we going... _ **ack**_! Let go!"  
  
Richard glared. "I'm going to take you to Batman, you stubborn headed bull."  
  
Wally exchanged glances with Megan who quickly spoke up. "Are you sure you want to do this? He told us we we're going to die later in the years, isn't that enough?"  
  
"No. That's not enough. We believe Bart is the key to saving the world. In order to do so," He pulled at Bart's ear harder, making him stumble and trip on his feet. "He, whether Impulse likes it or not, will release every last detail. Down to the very core."  
  
"I told you," Impulse complained. "I plan on telling when I feel like it. You got one answer. That's all I'm going to tell ya today."  
  
"We'll see."


End file.
